50 Interesting, Weird, And Disturbing Finds Shared On This Online Museum (New Pics)

“Being normal is vastly overrated,” declared grandma Aggie Cromwell inHalloweentown(1998). Certainly, life has so much to offer: things curious, magical, mysterious and strange. Weird antiques and vintage objects especially are so interesting to us because they’re unfamiliar. What back then perhaps was the norm, today seems peculiar and spooky.

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This Is Bertha Boronda.⁠ ⁠ Bertha Was Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For “Mayhem” In 1908

Water Damaged Copy Of “Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland” Which Grew Fungi.⁠ ⁠ (Photo By Igor Siwanowicz)

17th Century Poison Cabinet Disguised As A Book

Paul saidin 2022 that he drew inspiration from Dr. Chelsea Nichols’The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting ThingsandThe Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art And National Historyin London. These museums are not the only ones of their kind. Whether physical or virtual, many similar places exist in many parts of the world, like the museum of curiosities in San Marino. Some of them are evenmobile!

Perfume Bottle Consisting Of Eight Glass Bottles As Orange Segments, Set In Painted Ceramic Holder. (Ca. 1925)

Bat Lantern (Circa 1930)

Reusable Shopping List From The 1950s

The museum is still accepting donations from anyone that wants to help make the physical Monsieur Pompier’s Museum of Curiosities a reality. “You can donate whatever you like – be that money or your own curiosities which you’d like to see featured in the museum!” Paul told us in June.

Rare Set Of 16th Century Italian Notation Knives With Musical Notes Engraved On The Blade, Meant To Be Sung As Grace Before A Meal

They used a mirror so people could see their reflection and also added bars to represent a cage.

In 1963, The Bronx Zoo Held A Unique Exhibit It’s Name Was “The Most Dangerous Animal In The World” And As You Can See From The Picture, The Most Dangerous Animal Is A Human

Ann lived on the island of Skokholm, where her family were the only inhabitants and animals were pals. This photo was taken for a 1938 National Geographic story ‘We Live Alone and Like It — On An Island’

Ann Lockley Taking Tea With A Baby Hawk And A Lobster

Victorian Era Radiator With Bread Warmer

Self-Defense Glove For Ladies (London, 1850)

World’s Smalllest Man In 1956, Henry Berhens, Dancing With His Cat

The performances also feature a group of characters whose names correspond to the song titles on the band’s album. There’s Banana Boy, Guts The Cat, Willy The Wet Pocket, Sally Shortcake and many more. “On stage, I attempt to sing my ridiculous songs whilst the ‘freaks’ interact with me or the audience as they interpret and act out the story of their individual songs,” Paul told us back in 2022.

Late-1800s Brothel Candles. Wen The Candle Burned Out The Session Was Over

This Russian Family Portrait Was Taken Back In 1886. The Father Had An Obsession With Pool, And Dressed His Children Like Billiard Balls

She was born with a severe congenital deformity of conjoined twining that caused her to have two separate pelvises and a smaller set of inner legs that she was able to move.

Myrtle Corbin, Known As The Four-Legged Girl From Texas, Was A Dipygus

Museums of Curiosities are the successors of the pre-modern version of museums – cabinets of curiosities, or Wunderkammer. As Antonis Chaliakopoulos writes forThe Collector, what in 17th century Europe was a way to entertain guests at home after dinner, throughout the years has evolved into the modern museum.

It came from the Hospital del Ceppo in Pistoia, near Florence, founded in 1277

Obstetric Phantom, 18th Century. The Wood And Leather Model Was Used To Teach Medical Students, And Possibly Midwives, About Childbirth

1950s Ovaltine Advert

Chopines Are Platform Shoes That Were Worn By Women In The 15th, 16th And 17th Century

A cabinet of curiosities most often included rare antiquities and exotic natural specimens. What makes them different from what we now know as museums was the selection process. Museums today do it on a scientific basis, and back then these private collections were based on an individual’s preferred taste. The most important quality of a curiosity was considered its rarity, and the end goal was to wow your guests.

Painless Dentist

Unlucky

Antique Victorian Crystal Poison Bottle, 1890

What was featured inside such a cabinet of curiosities? That depended on the location of the collector: one in London would have different treasures in his cabinet than another in Amsterdam. The biggest two categories that are now identified are man-made artifacts (artificialia) and natural specimens (naturalia).

Egyptian–Phoenician Glass Dog Head Bead, 6th-4th Century Bc

Tutankhamun Wore Socks With His Sandals

“Winkie” Blinking Eyeball Novelty Ring From 1962

The names are more or less self-explanatory, but examples ofnaturaliawould include animals, plants, and minerals. Carcasses of beasts and other weird-looking creatures were considered the most exotic items. However, collectors used to merge different animals together to create the most interesting mythical beasts. That’s why the line betweennaturaliaandartificialiasometimes would get blurred and the classification depended on the collector’s individual decision.

Black Cat Auditions In Hollywood (1961)

This Medieval House In Aveyron, France, Dates Back To The 13th Century And Was Built Top-Heavy As A Cost-Saver, Because At The Time, Homes Were Taxed On Ground-Floor Square Footage

A Neon Salesman’s Sample Case, Circa 1935

Examples ofartificialiaincluded cultural artifacts, antiquities and artworks. The most popular, however, were scientific instruments. The reason is that sciences, such as medicine and astronomy, weren’t exactly popular back then. Instruments that were used to measure space and time were seen as almost magical and as proof of man’s domination over nature.

Museum In Japan That Showcases Various Naturally Formed Rocks With Faces On Them

Happy Caturday

Corner Piano

The Lava Lamp Inventor With His Wife In 1963

It was used for teaching midwifery. Madame Du Coudray spent 25 years travelling the towns and cities of France, teaching her methods and selling her mannequins

This Mannequin Was Designed By Angelique Marguerite Le Boursier Du Coudray During The 1700’s

The Retired Heads Of Madame Tussauds

Victorian Era “Ritter” Road-Skates Or Foot Bicycles, Ca 1898

They earned about six pence a week using a pea shooter to shoot dried peas at the windows of sleeping workers in East London, 1930s

A Knocker-Upper Was Someone Whose Purpose Was To Wake People Up During A Time When Alarm Clocks Were Expensive And Not Very Reliable

Carved Ivory And Ebony Skeleton With Gravedigger’s Shovel, Dated 1632. State Art Collections, Dresden

The Breastplate Of Cuirassier 19 Years Old Antoine Fraveau, Struck And Killed By A Canonball During Battle Of Waterloo (1815)

Contraption Worn By A Mid-19th Century Women Who Lost Her Nose To Syphilis

Authentic 16th Century Plague Doctor Mask Preserved And On Display At The German Museum Of Medical History

The Old Gentleman Of Raahe Is Believed To Be The Oldest Surviving Diving Suit In The World, Dating Back From The Early 1700s

Egyptian Gold Sandals And Toe Caps Circa 1500 B.c

Past - Present - Future?⁠

Daddy Saddle

Victorian Mourning Ring With Glass Eye Of The Deceased Ca. 1890

Photographer Unknown, Possibly Paleontologist Alfred Romer. Nelda Wright In The Skull Of A Kronosaurus, 1958. Harvard University Archives

1887, Alice In Wonderland

Little Richard Doll

To Copyright Their Unique Looks, Professional Clowns Submit Their Likeness To The Clowns International Group, Who Paint Eggs To Match The Hair, Makeup And Costumes Of Each Performer, And Then Files Them In The Clown Egg Register

Horse Costume Taken From Jean Cocteau’s Le Testament D’orphée (Testament Of Orpheus), Designed By Janine Janet, 1960

Rubber “Beauty Masks” Worn To Get Rid Of Wrinkles And Skin Imperfections, 1921

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A 1930s Vision Of The Future

Wax Model Of A French Sailor With Skin Disease Of The Nose, Made In 1894

This Was Once The Oldest House In Hamburg Germany. It Was Built In 1504 And Was Demolished In 1910

1930s Baby Rattle

Fly Me To The Moon

Norton’s “Smile And Cry” Baby Face Soap, 1930-39

Kiss Your Favorite Beatle! 16 Magazine, 1965

Bear With Me

The 14th Century Tomb Of François I De La Sarra, Who Is Spending Eternity With Frogs Feasting On His Face And Genitals, And Worms And Snakes Nibbling On His Body

Michelin Men

Boneheads

Woman In The 1930s Going Through An Attitude Adjustment Program

1944 Maria Montez, In Universal Pictures’ South Seas Adventure Film, Cobra Woman

Creepy Donald Duck Costume

The House Of Nonsense

The Perfect Gift

The Bee’s Knees

“The Bat” From A German Fashion Magazine C.1951.the Mask Was Created By The French Make Up Artist Fernand Aubry

Aftermath Of A Fire At Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum In London, 1930

The Le Passe-Muraille (Passer-Through-Walls ) Sculpture In The Paris Catacombs

70s Wool Nose Warmer

Mr And Mrs Aardvark

Professor Meredith Thring And His Stair-Climbing Chair Prototype In 1964

The Little People Of The Woods Published By Birn Brothers, 1940s

The goggles had a small aperture so when they heard an approaching aircraft and turned their head towards it, the plane would be visible

A Junior Officer And A Soldier From A German Field Artillery Unit Wearing Acoustic Optical Locating Apparatus

Hugo Gernsback (August 16, 1884 – August 19, 1967), was a Luxembourgish-American inventor, writer, editor, engineer, designer, businessman, and magazine publisher

“The Isolator“ – A Bizarre Helmet From 1925 Designed To Improve Work Productivity